Forget Me Not
by WildCherryFlavoredHalibut
Summary: Clark Kent has had his fair share of run-ins with amnesia but when Lois becomes the victim of a story gone wrong, the tables turn for Clark.
1. Chapter 1

**NEW STORY! It's probably been done but what the hey, I'll write it anyways.**

**Author's Note: I don't own Smallville or it's characters or else Lana would have been booted off a LONG TIME AGO!**

**Enjoy!**

Clark entered The Planet, a warm cup of coffee in his hand and small smile on his face. Today had been a good morning, he had woken up bright and early, done some chores on the farm, fed Shelby and written up his article for Perry all before heading over to work. Plus, he hadn't had to rush off somewhere to save someone. All in all, it had been a quiet morning, something Clark Kent hadn't had in a long while. As he walk over to his desk, he couldn't help but take in the bustling energy of his workplace; the rapid tapping of keyboards and the smell of stale coffee. Clark was about to sip some of his coffee when a stealthy hand came in from the corner of his vision, his hand suddenly empty.

"Mmm. Thanks, Smallville. Just what I needed." Lois sipped the coffee, ignoring Clark's perplexed look as he glanced from his now coffee-less hand to Lois.

"Lois!" He called after.

She turned to him, her face questioning. "What?"

Clark shook his head, a small smirk on his face. "Never mind."

"Lane! Kent!"

Lois rolled her eyes as Perry waved them over from his office.

"What's Perry want now?" Clark asked as he fished around for his article.

"Probably want's us to write some fluff piece on Mayor Wilson's new campaign." She said with some mild contempt.

"Come on, Lois. That was good story." Clark said, as he walked beside her to Perry's office where they could both see him sitting at his desk, watching them approach.

"It was a _boring_ story."

"I thought we did a good job."

"Oh we did. It was just boring." She opened the door, throwing him a smile before entering.

"Ah, my two best reporters." Perry started before Lois let out a hard laugh.

"Oh no. Whenever you start out a meeting with "My two best reporters", I usually end up in some ridiculous costume while Clark here ends up in..." She looked Clark over up and down, "Whatever the hell he wears."

"I thought that chicken suit you had on last time was really...cute." Clark retorted while Perry gave a small chuckle in the background. Lois gave them both looks.

Perry finished his small laughed and coughed into his hands before placing a look of seriousness on his face.

"Lois, the reason for my buttering you up wasn't for another display of theatrics on your part." He shuffled a bit, "Maybe you should sit down." He suggested, waving his hands to the two chairs.

Clark sat down without question, his body and mind suddenly alert but Lois wasn't. She glanced from the chair to Perry to Clark then back to the chair.

"What is it, Perry?"

"Maybe you should sit." He suggested one more time, a bit more commanding in his tone.

She crossed her arms, her normal stance of defiance. "No!"

"Fine!" Perry took a moment, laying both hands on his desk, "It seems that Raymond Sacks has been released." He said very slowly, watching Lois the entire time. Perry hadn't been there at the time but enough time at a newspaper and you eventually hear everything including a corrupt District Attorney throwing Lois off The Daily Planet's roof.

Lois' arms unfolded and she started to pace, her face scrunched in fury. Clark and Perry watched her go back in forth, to afraid to say anything in case she might throw them off the roof.

"That leech throws me off the roof and and he get's to walk!" She seethed threw clenched teeth.

"Mind you he's been in jail for awhile now, Lois. His lawyers have had to time to appeal his case."

"What case?!" She shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. "He gave me an unwanted nose-dive off our roof! I was hanging on a pole! I FELL!"

Clark watched her surprised at her outburst. This wasn't a common Lois Lane reaction. He watched her closely, and discovered the slight shaking of her body and the increased pace of her heart.

Maybe that close encounter with death had really scared her after all. It sure had for him. Even right now, a small bubble of anger at Sacks bloomed within him. He wanted so much to hold her, tell her he was there for her but Lois always had a thing with her personal space and the editor's office wasn't the best of places to have a warm embrace.

He turned to Perry, hoping to steer the conversation away from Sacks and calm Lois down a bit.

"So, what's the story?"

"No, story...I just wanted to let you know." Perry said, one on Clark and one eye on Lois, which was rather difficult since know she was starting to play with his 'Reporter Of the Year' award.

"Where Sacks right now?" Clark asked. "He's not in Metropolis, is he?

Perry, his eyes glued to the award that Lois was now tossing from hand to hand, shook his head, his body jerking every time she caught it in one hand and threw it to the other.

"Uh. No. He's...in Star City at the moment which is for the best."

Lois scoffed."Yeah, for him!" She finally placed the award back on the desk to Perry's sweet relief.

"Well, all this great news has made me hungry. I'm going to lunch." She stood up off the desk, and headed for the door.

"Maybe you should take the day off, Lois?" Clark suggested from behind her.

"Please, I'm not going to let someone like Sacks," She spit his name out, "Hole me up in my apartment with every flavor of Ben and Jerry to my disposal. Plus, I have a deadline." She said as an afterthought.

"That's my girl!" Perry shouted as they left.

"So, where do you want to do lunch, Clark?" She asked placing her coat on. He was about to answer when a sudden jingle from her purse interrupted him. He watched as she jumped for it, fishing around frantically before finding it and flipping it open.

"Lane. Mmm Hmm. Where? I can be there in fifteen." She flipped the phone closed and stared off into the distance for a moment.

"Lois?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Looks like we'll be skipping lunch. I just got a tip about a drug trade down at the docks. Care to join?" She grabbed her purse and made way for the door, Clark fumbling behind her for his coat.

"Lois, do you think that's such a great idea?" He placed his body in front of her causing her to run into him. He caught her arms, "Drug trade? That's sounds dangerous. Maybe we should call the police?"

"Come on, Clark. When did reporter's ever get by by 'calling the police'?" She pulled herself free from his grip, suddenly cotton mouthed. "Plus, we'd be doing them a favor. God knows they get a bad enough rap."

"Lois, I just don't-"

She spun to face him, her finger placed closely to his lips. If he wanted to, he could have easily moved forward and kissed her finger.

"Don't even finish that sentence. If anything happens to _**you**_, I'll call the police." She said with a cheeky smirk. She pulled her finger back, giving Clark an assuring pat on the arm. "Don't worry, Smallville, I got your back."

_It's not my back I'm worried about._ He thought as he followed her up the stairs.

* * *

"Well Lois, if this doesn't look like a perfect setting for a trap, then I just don't know what is." Clark observed sarcastically from the passenger seat. Lois gave him an exasperated look before turning the car off.

"Really, Clark? Why would my tip send me off into a trap? I pay him good money. More money then he deserves but money nonetheless."

"Someone must be paying him better money if he told you to come here."

Lois turned to the warehouse she had parked in front of, suddenly very unsure of herself. She bit her lip as she looked at the boarded up windows, the peeling pain that exposed the rusted metal of the building. She could imagine the hordes of rats that lived there, and it didn't help her argument against Clark, that this warehouse was at the very back of the docks, making them hidden from any people who might trail along.

"Okay, so this place does look sketchy." She admitted, "But you have to admit this does look like the perfect place for a drug trade to go down. Let's just check it out." She ordered, getting out of the car. Clark followed her to the one exposed window they could find.

"I don't see anything." Clark commented, squinting his eyes to add to the effect. He could see inside and all he saw was leaking pipes and rotting wooden boards. He expanded his hearing, which confirmed the leaking pipes but also a heartbeat, a slow heartbeat. He turned his head to better hear and was rewarded with small shallow breaths of a man clearly in pain.

"Someone's in there."

"Really? I don't see anything?" Lois whispered, squinting her eyes to see what Clark could only hear.

"He sounds like he's in pain." Clark looked around for a door and spotted it a few feet down from them. It was rusted and worn down, easy enough to open without the use of his super strength. Lois and Clark creeped inside slowly, Clark in front to Lois' annoyance. She slipped her heels off, using her feet to gouge where she was.

"I think I see him!" She whispered into his ear. Clark looked in the direction she was looking at. She was right. They could see the outline of a man through whatever small light filtered in. Clark rushed to him, a slow sicking feeling entering his body but he didn't think of it at the time.

"Are you okay?" The closer he got to the the weaker he got until he pulled back a bit. Suddenly the warehouse lit up in a strong emerald green light. Clark keeled over in pain as the rushing hum of Kryptonite filled his system in pulsating flows.

"Clark!" Lois screamed, rushing to his side.

"Get...the...man..." He gulped out, the pain weakening his vision until Lois was just a blur.

She shook her head, confused at was happening but she followed his orders, making her way over to the man. With slight shaky fingers, she started to rip the duct tape off, swearing as she struggled with it.

"It's okay. I'm a reporter. I'm here to help." She said, finally ripping the duct tape off. "Oh, sorry!" She said when he grunted from the pain. She moved on to his blindfold, working out the knot before it loosened enough for it to fall off.

Lois stiffened, her eyes widening as she now looked into the eyes of Raymond Sacks, who couldn't keep the grin off his face at her surprised look.

"You!" She hissed, backing away slightly.

"Hello, Miss. Lane. Missed me?" He said, standing up.

"About as much as I miss a good hangover." She spat back, her trademark sarcasm coming to play.

"And I see you brought your partner, Clark Kent." Sacks observed, making his way to Clark.

"Don't you dare!" Lois screamed, running over to hit Sacks but she stopped mid-swing as he pulled a gun out of nowhere.

Clark struggled to get up but just the movement of turning over sent more spasms of pain. He watched through pained eyes as Sacks pulled the gun up to Lois' head.

"Mind your temper, Lane." He ordered, pulling the safety back.

"Do you know what I went through in there! All the pain!"

Lois smirked, even though she could feel the barrel of the gun pressed hard into her scalp. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to drop soap, Sacks."

With a frustrated roar, Sacks pulled his hand back, slapping Lois hard across the face until her snapped back and she fell to the ground.

All Clark could do was watch helplessly as she struggled to sit up, throwing him a reassuring smile through blood stained lips.

"And by who?! By some would be reporter!" He screamed, pushing Lois back down to the ground. He bent down to her struggling body, his eyes wide with madness.

"You know, in jail, I learned some interesting things." He bragged to her softly, pulling hair off her face. She turned away from him, disgusted. "I learned some ways to really torture a person."

"Like what? Make them listen to one of your campaign speeches?" She taunted.

His lips pulled back into a snarl and he stood up, looking down at her with pure hate.

"You'll see, Lois Lane. I chose this place specifically so I could enjoy the sounds of your screaming without the worry of interruption."

"People know I'm here" She said, her eyes filling with worry.

Sacks looked at her with a knowing smile, "No they don't. See, you're sloppy like that. What would your father think of that?"

He turned to Clark, "You were an unexpected surprise but I made sure to bring some friends along." He pulled a meteor rock from his pocket, the green rock growing brightly as he pushed it closer to Clark's face. He screamed in pain while Lois watched in horror.

"Stop it!" She screamed.

Sacks turned to her but not before placing the rock on Clark's trembling chest.

"You don't know, do you?" Lois stared at him in confusion. "No, you don't. See, in prison you hear a lot of things and really doesn't help when half those prisoners have been placed in there by none other then Clark Kent himself...or should I say...The Blur."

Lois stared at him in shock before letting out a hard laugh. "You really are insane if you think that Clark Kent is The Blur."

He ran over to her, pulling her chin into his hands and dragging her roughly over to Clark, "LOOK AT HIM! LOOK!" He screamed, pushing her into Clark's sweaty face. "Now, what kind of normal human being reacts to meteor rocks that way?!" He spat. Lois, stared at Clark's pleading eyes.

"No." She shook her head.

"You've known all along, Miss. Lane. YOU KNOW WHAT HE IS!" He screamed into her ear. She shook as the realization she had tried so hard to keep hidden came crashing forward.

"Clark?" She pleaded, watching as he closed his eyes in pain.

"And now, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. Lois Lane and The Blur." He stated, grabbing the gun off the chair he had placed it on. Lois, stared at Clark, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm going to get us out of this and then_ I'm going to kill you!_" She whispered. She slowly lifted herself up into a crouch, swing her leg around and throwing Sack's feet out from under him. When he landed with a hard grunt, she kicked the gun from his hand, where it slid off into the darkness and aimed a hard ax-kick to his chest, knocking the breath out of him.

"Come on, Clark! Get up!" She commanded, leaning over to help him up.

"The meteor rock." He breathed out slowly. "You have to get it away from me." His voice was shallow and came out in half breaths.

"Fine." She muttered. Clark threw his head back in enough time to see the heavy metal pipe being lifted fast over her head. He watched in slow motion as it came down hard, hitting her head with a sicking thud that vibrated through Clark's body.

"LOIS!" He cried out as her body crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

Anger heated his vision and for the first time Kryptonite held no avail over Clark as he stood to full height, all pain gone and his face masked in pure rage.

Sacks stared at him in horror, swinging the pipe at Clark in desperation but it did nothing but bend oddly as it struck Clark's chest.

Sacks stared at the piped, his eyes wide with surprise. "Shit!"

With a raging yell, Clark hit Sack's full on in the chest, taking sick pleasure in hearing and feeling the bones break. He didn't even watch Sack's body slam pitifully into the farthest wall, his body imprinting into the hard metal. He turned to Lois, his eyes filling with tears as he saw the blood dripping down her face.

"Lois?!" He whimpered, picking up her soft body. His breath caught in his throat as tears fell down her face. Without thinking he super speed to the hospital, not caring if someone saw him, just as long as Lois was okay. Lois needed to be okay.

* * *

"Clark!" Chloe called out to him as she rushed into his arms, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Is she going to fine? Please tell me she's going to be fine!"

Clark pulled her down and Chloe stared at his face, void of any emotion. "They don't know." His voice was still, falling flat.

"She's still in surgery. The doctor's won't tell me anything!" He spat, his eyes flaring with rage.

"It's okay, Clark." Chloe reassured, pulling him up and into a closet. "I'm sure she'll be fine." She said more to herself. Clark watched more tears fall down the invisible tracks of previous ones and his cold demeanor crumbled as he pulled Chloe into another hug.

"I can't lose her, Clark." She sobbed into his chest. "I just can't."

Clark pulled back as he hearing suddenly filled with a familiar heartbeat. He grabbed Chloe's shaking hand and pulled out of the closet as Lois' gurney came into view. Clark's heart fell into his descending stomach as he saw her bandaged head and stitched lip. As she was wheeled by, he brushed her hand softly, flinching at how cold it was.

"Are you Miss. Lane's family?" Came a soft voice behind them.

"I'm her cousin." Chloe spoke up, tearing her eyes away from Lois as they wheeled her into the room.

The doctor tried to give her an impression of a smile but it came out as a grimace, "We were able to alleviate a lot of the swelling which is good but it'll probably be awhile before she responds let alone wake up."

"But will she wake up?" Chloe interrupted.

The doctor hated this part of her job, it was the one part of the job she would give anything to skip.

"If everything goes well...she should" She said softly. She turned and left, her heart going out to them.

Clark stood in hard silence as Chloe flicked her phone open. "I'm calling Oliver."

Clark ignored her, turning to Lois' room and closing the door. Chloe didn't object but just watched him before going back to her phone call.

He stared at her before forcing himself to move to her bedside. He looked her over, shocked at how small she looked against the white of the bedsheets. He pulled a chair over, sitting down and grabbing her hand. He watched as his thumb rubbed over the outside of her hand and suddenly he crumbled, his hard sobs muffled by her sheets. He lifted his head with a hard breath.

"You'll wake up, Lois." He told himself because it was better then sulking in his thoughts were Lois didn't wake up. His mind flip flopped, going from assurance to anger as he blamed himself for everything. He lifted his face to hers, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. He placed his lips to her ears, his voice pleading.

"Lois, please wake up. I need you, Lois." He laid his head against hers, careful not to hurt her. "I love you, Lois Lane." He said these words softly, words he had wanted to say to her for the longest time. He felt a sudden shiver and his eyes snapped open, an expectant smile on his face. It was moments like these that Clark thanked his alien heritage as he picked up the subtle difference in her breathing that no human could have. It was stronger and more controlled and he almost cried out in joy as he heard her soft whimpers escape her lips.

Jumping up, Clark ran to the door. "Chloe!" He called to the blonde who was talking into her phone. She glanced up to his excited face, and realization hit her hard. She ran over, pushing her body through the door and over to her cousin, who's eyelids now flickered with movement.

"Lois?" She whispered hesitantly, regretting it for a moment, afraid that it would send her catapulting back into her coma but Chloe cried out as her cousin slowly opened her eyes to the glaring hospital lights.

Clark practically jumped for joy as he watched Lois open her hazel eyes to the world.

"Lois?" Chloe asked again, her hand holding strong to Lois'.

Slowly and with much hesitation, she opened her eyes to two dark figures. One was a short petite blonde with big green eyes puffy and red, and a large smile that transformed her face. The other was a tall muscular man with soft blue eyes and black hair, who's smile strangely made her feel tingly though she didn't know why. Confusion filled her and she pulled her hand away from the blonde's, who's smile faltered.

"Lois?"

"Who are you guys?" She croaked, her mouth dry and weak. She flickered her eyes around the room, the light still too strong to pinpoint any familiar locations. "Where am I?"

"Oh god no. Please." Chloe whispered, her eyes closing in panic.

"Lois? You don't remember?" Clark asked softly, the reality of the situation was one he was trying hard not to admit.

She glanced at him, her face confused, "I don't even know who Lois is?"

And just like that, Clark's world crumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews. They make me happy. And we all know, a happy person writes more...so make me happy. :)**

* * *

She played with her Jell-O aimlessly, her eyes more focused on the three silhouettes outside her hospital window, who spoke with animation, many gestures made in her direction. A new stranger had arrived earlier, who had looked as crestfallen as the others when he had discovered that she didn't remember him either.

"I'm Oliver. Oliver Queen." He had said, a hopeful tone heavily coated his voice.

She gazed at him uncertainly, shaking her head. "I don't even know who I am so what makes you think I know who you are?" She had argued, the snarky comments a comforting cover for her massive confusion.

He had stood back up, a sad smirk on his face. "Well, she definitely remembers how to run her mouth." He commented sadly, a sad but hopeful smile on his face that wilted as he realized she wouldn't rise to the bait. The blonde, who had been standing in the background placed her hand into his, ushering him out with a soft mumble of his name. The other hung back for a moment and she glanced awkwardly at him until he gave her a small grin before slowly following the other two.

"I've contacted every doctor I could get a hold of. Sent her file to them too." Oliver told them as they all convened outside Lois' room. "What has the doctor said?"

"Amnesia. Plain and simple." Chloe said.

"I figured this would be more your territory, Clark."

Clark unclenched his jaw, eying Oliver with almost a harsh glare before deflating. It was no use getting mad at Oliver for trying to lighten the situation.

Chloe glanced quickly at Clark before asking her question in one big breath, "And Sacks?"

There was a deep silence where for a moment Clark wanted to punch every hard surface until they were nothing but soft powder beneath his hands.

"He's still in surgery. He'll make it but _whatever_ hit him," Oliver eyed Clark who gave the most indifferent look, "That man will never be the same but this is me not caring."

Chloe took a moment to grab Clark's hands, staring softly at him. "I would have done the same thing. Don't you dare feel guilty or I will slam you into a wall." She said with a smile.

At first Clark thought she meant don't feel guilt over Sacks but he soon realized he meant over Lois, which was right. The familiar burden of guilt had been weighing down on Clark heavily and blame was not to far behind.

"I could have..." He started.

"What Clark? What could have possibly done?" She interrupted hotly. "There was Kryptonite. There's _always _Kryptonite."

"I really hate those damn rocks." Oliver mumbled in the background. Clark almost gave a small smirk at that.

"Clark," Chloe brought his attention back to her, "Stop blaming yourself and think about what we're going to do about Lois." She said sternly, glancing over his shoulders to where Lois eyed them curiously through the blinds. Clark and Oliver turned to look and Lois snapped her head back down, taking a new found interest in her Jell-O bowl.

"Have you called the General?" Clark asked Chloe, suddenly very worried. "Or Lucy?"

"I couldn't get through to him. He's on a mission down in Peru and isn't reachable for awhile and Lucy, well, that's like trying to catch a fly."

"So...about Lois?" Oliver chimed in.

"Maybe she should stay with you, Chloe?" Clark offered even though he wanted Lois within close proximity to him.

Chloe got some sense that wasn't what Clark wanted but she felt compelled to take charge of her family.

"Yeah, that's fine. Maybe something will ring her bells."

"And Oliver, I want you to find out who Sacks talked to in jail." Clark ordered turning to Oliver who, slightly taken aback, nodded nonetheless. "Someone in there knows I'm The Blur."

"And what are you going to do?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders as he glanced back at Lois who had fallen asleep, her head rolled to the side facing them. For a moment, Clark forgot what had happened. Her features softened by the calmness of sleep; it put Clark in a fantasy where Lois was fine, Sacks was behind bars and they were nowhere near this place.

"What I do best..." He said softly.

Oliver smirked. "Worry?"

* * *

Chloe pushed the door open, scanning her apartment before turning her head back behind where Lois stood, an expectant look on her face.

"This is it." Chloe stood in the middle of the apartment, her arms spread wide as she smiled at Lois.

She peeked her head in slowly, her eyes fleeting from object to object, sometimes stopping on one for a moment before moving to the next. Nothing was familiar. Nothing brought any feeling of recognition and for a moment, Lois wanted to run back to the hospital, the only familiar place she had come to know. Her stomach churned with anxiety as she looked back Chloe...her cousin and it scared that someone so close was so far away.

Chloe twisted her hands, "Anything?"

"No." She played with a piece of mail that was on a white coffee table next the door. She was surprised to see her name "Lois Lane" written in bold letters. It was comforting to see some proof that she, whoever she was, actually existed in the real world and not just in the heads of people who told her who she was.

"Did you want some coffee?" Chloe needed to change the subject. It was too much for her to handle Lois not recognizing where she lived. Where she slept.

"You know, that's the fourth time you've asked me today."

Chloe hung her head. "Sorry."

"Oh god! I didn't mean-Do I normally drink so much coffee?" She stammered out ashamed she made Chloe feel so bad.

"Yes. Sometimes more." Chloe chuckled.

Lois let out an easy breath. "Good because I could really go for some right now."

Chloe spun around into the kitchen while Lois followed awkwardly behind. She perched herself on the bar stool and watched as her _cousin_ prepared the coffee. It felt odd. To even think the word cousin was odd since her family were strangers in her eyes.

"Oh, while that's brewing I thought maybe you wanted to look through this?" Chloe offered her a big green photo album that was old and worn, bursting at the seams with pages of overspilling pictures.

"You know...to look at." Chloe offered.

She grabbed the album with much trepidation. A part of her was bursting with curiosity, hope that maybe with just one glance something would come back. Even if it was her sister's name.

_Lucy Lane._

But **she** wanted to remember it, not be told what it was. She gave Chloe a tight lipped grin, pushed the album to her chest and walked over to the couch all while feeling the heavy eyes of Chloe on her back. She sat on the edge of the couch perching the album on her knees. With a deep breath, she opened the album, the crinkle of the papers made it more bearing, as if she were opening up a treasure trove of gold. The first picture was an old one, the edges were worn down and it was faded in some parts but she could see the bright vibrant faces of two young girls smiling at the camera.

"Is that us?" She asked Chloe, who brought over two steaming mugs. Chloe gently placed them down, her head tilted to better view the picture.

"Oh yeah!" She chuckled, "That was the summer I came over to Fort Ryan. It was probably the only time The General stayed in one spot."

"How old were we?" She asked softly, running her fingertips over the slick paper that protected the picture.

"You were 13 and I was 12." Her voice grew distant as she thought back to that summer. "God, we got into so much trouble. Do you remember when we snuck into one of the tanks and pretended we were the A-Team? I was Hannibal and you were Murdock."

She lifted her head slowly to Chloe's, almost wishing she could say yes. "No."

Chloe's face fell slightly and she rubbed her thumbs up and down her coffee mug. "This is hard for me, Lois. I'm sorry if I slip up sometimes."

"Hey, you could tell me I like to juggle fireballs and kick puppies and I would believe you. I'd have fun with this if I wasn't the person..you know, not remembering things." She turned back to the album flipping the page. Her lips perked up in a slight smile as she gazed down at the photo.

"Something tells me I'm not so gung-ho about the color pink."

"That was prom. Yeah, your body was being possessed by Dawn Summers, who got the ability to transfer herself from body to body and she just happened to cross you and voila. She had a thing for hearts and pink."

Chloe glanced up from her ramble to the blinking eyes of Lois. "No, really." She asked, confused.

"Lois, Smallville is the freak capitol of the world. Besides our amazing corn fields and tractor races, we happen to the center of every meteor shower bulls-eye."

She shifted her eyes around, and overwhelming sensation to haul Chloe off to the hospital but so very curious to find out more. She opened her mouth to ask but the sudden rapping of the door cut her off.

"That must be Clark. Guy can't be away from you for more then two hours before he goes crazy." Chloe rolled her eyes as she walked over to door. "She's fine, Clark." She assured with sarcasm. "I can take care of her."

"I...I was..just...I just came...I-Chinese?" He stammered out, holding out a bag that Chloe grabbed roughly from him. She waved him in, slamming the door a bit hard. Clark stood awkwardly in the room as he saw Lois, looking back at him, an album in her lap.

"Chloe's showing you pictures?"

"Yeah. I was just looking at the one from prom." She said, lifting it up to show him. He walked over, the picture coming into better focus the closer he got. She was laughing hard, her face bright and her body tilted forward towards his. Her hand laid on his chest, leverage to hold her up and he was smiling down at her. Clark, for the life of him, couldn't remember what he had said to make her laugh so hard but the feeling of satisfaction that he could trickled back into him.

"Chloe tells me I was possessed?"

"Yeah. Long story."

"Possessed by some freak with a fetish for pink. Obviously not that long." She stated, flipping the page again. Her brows lifted slightly then crinkled as she lowered her head closer to the book.

"What the hell am I wearing?"

Clark moved over and sat down beside her. His body tingled as she lowered into him as he sat down. "That was a costume ball held...by Lex Luthor." His voice grew soft at the name even though it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Lex Luthor?"

"Bad man. Next page." Chloe called from the kitchen, where she nibbled on chow mien. Lois obliged and flipped to the next page. This one made Clark's stomach fall but that didn't stop him from smiling. This one Chloe had taken on a bright spring morning a few weeks before the campaign had come to and end and his father had won. Johnathan and Martha had been standing outside when Clark and Lois had walked by arguing over Shelby who was rubbing by Lois. Chloe had just bought a new camera and had wanted to test it out. After many groans and a snap here and there by Lois, Chloe had managed to get everybody, even Shelby, into the picture.

"That's my mom...and dad."

"And the furball?" Lois asked.

"Shelby." Clark smiled. "You like her. A lot." He couldn't help it. Something about looking at that picture, about the ways things had been between them made him want to rub her the wrong way. Nostalgia, he guessed.

Lois turned to him, her lips lifting in a slight smile. "Chloe tells me we lived together."

Clark lifted his eyes to Chloe, who smiled at him through cheeks full of fried rice.

"Does make us..." Lois left the question in the air. Clark looked back at her. "Makes us what?"

"Well, were we ever...you know?"

He gazed back her. Her hazel eyes were wide with expectant answered that Clark felt like he couldn't give her. How many times the thought of them together had rushed through his mind, there and gone with nothing but a slight after-taste of pleasure that left Clark slightly fuzzy. Here, he could feed Lois a whole new world and she would never know. The thought was tempting but it wasn't real. Clark wanted Lois back. The real Lois. The Lois that sneezed around Shelby, that blasted Whitesnake in her car. The Lois that ran head first into trouble no questions asked and who liked to wear Clark's plaid shirts even though she teased him for wearing them. The Lois he had fallen in love with.

"No. We were never a couple, Lois."

"Oh." She turned her head back to the album, leaving Clark wondering if that had been disappointment he had heard in her voice or if it was just him.

* * *

Oliver sped through the streets of Metropolis, taking in the sensation of freedom as his surroundings blurred past him in streaks. He turned, rather fast, into a deserted street where the buildings turned from tall and majestic to pathetic and worn. He pulled into a stop in front of a rather patchy building that didn't look like it had long before it crumbled down. He got out of his car and walked into through the door, heading to the back room where Barney sat.

"How's my purple dinosaur?" Oliver asked, taking in his disheveled informant.

"I told you not to call me that, Queen." He spat.

"Can't help it. You awaken the inner child in me." Oliver quipped, pulling a chair over to the table that Barney had placed conveniently in front of him. "Got what I need and maybe I'll stop."

Barney snorted which turned into a fit of harsh coughing. Oliver sat in mild disgust as Barney heaved and thrashed in front of him.

"Do you need water?" Oliver asked after a few minuets had past and Barney had yet to calm down. Barney shook his head, his chins jiggling with every cough. He pointed to a dusty bottle that laid on the floor next to Oliver's feet. He bent down to pick it up, smiling as he read the label.

"Vodka?" With a shrug, he handed it to Barney, who guzzled it down in one chug.

"Can you just give me what I need before you die?"

"Yeah. You owe me big time, Queen." Barney rasped as Oliver opened the envelope Barney slid to him. "That wasn't easy to get."

Oliver read the letters. "You sure this is right?"

"Got it from the top and you can't get any higher then the top."

Oliver flicked him a look from over the tables before shoving the papers back hard into the envelope.

"What's the matter? They're not good enough for Queenie?"

Oliver stood up, throwing a wad of bills over to Barney. "Thanks." As he rushed out, he pulled his phone out.

"Chloe? We've got a big problem."


	3. Chapter 3

**I KNOW! I KNOW! Don't think I've neglected you all, it's just been hectic and I haven't been able to write so in a rush I wrote this out to appease you all...hopefully. No worries about "Once More With Feeling", that is going to be updated soon. SOON. Really soon. **

**Reviews make me happy and happy writers get happy reviews...so make me happy. **

Chloe shoved through into Watchtower, her phone held tightly in her hand as she gazed around for Oliver.

"Oliver!"

"Over here." His brisk voice was a path for her to follow through the maze of computers and wires. She found hunched over a computer, a thousand papers scattered everywhere.

"Nice mess. You're cleaning that up." She pointed out. "What's the big emergency?"

Oliver drew his face up slowly from the papers, his eyes the last to land on Chloe's face. "Where's Lois and Clark?"

"I couldn't leave Lois by herself so I left her with Clark." She gazed up at the computer screen where felon profiles whizzed by faster then she could react. "What are you doing?"

He looked back to the screen, "I did a little research to find out who Sack's cell buddy was and came back with something." He handed her the envelope. She took it, hesitating for moment before bringing it to her nose and sniffing it.

"It smells like vodka?" She crinkled her nose.

Oliver shrugged. "That's Barney for you. Just look inside." He want back to typing out something as Chloe pulled the papers out.

"Todd "The Toad" Weatherby?" Her forehead crinkled in confusion, "Who's 'The Toad'?"

"Remember when Lois created Stiletto to investigate Bruno Manheim," He started and Chloe finished.

"Who was there when Clark got shot. I still don't understand though."

"Todd 'The Toad' was. From interrogations with the police, he was there when it all happened. He saw Lois as Stiletto. He saw Clark get shot but he also Clark break the lock off the door he used to get in."

"Well that's not good." She stood beside him, her hands replacing his as they flew over the keyboard.

"So, you think he told this to Sacks who just happened to put two and two together and came up with Clark is The Blur as his answer. Don't you think that seems a bit far-fetched even for Sacks?"

Oliver leaned against the desk, his arms crossed in thought. "Sacks may have been stupid throwing Lois of a roof but he isn't dumb. "

"So, what does this mean?"

"Well, hopefully this means it's over and all we have to deal with is Lois." Oliver turned back to the screen where a blown-up picture of The Toad's face filled the screen. Oliver took in the smashed in forehead and over-lapping front lip.

"Guy really does look like a toad." Chloe commented.

Oliver smiled back at her, "Ribbit."

* * *

"And this is your desk." Lois followed Clark's eyes to rather messy desk centered in the middle of the bustling news room. She had grown fidgety in the small apartment so Clark had led her outside, like a dog and kept a close eye as she wandered around the Talon. Yet, she had grown tired of even that and after 5 minutes, she rushed out the door followed by a rather frantic Clark.

"Lois, you can't just run around like that!" He had scolded.

"Please, you practically have me on a leash. Come on. I need to leave. All this home town lovin' has got my head spinning so could we just go somewhere...else?"

Clark had refused but after Lois had pouted then yelled, he relented and now here they were at The Daily Planet.

Lois walked over to the desk, picking up her engraved name plaque.

"_My desk._" She let it roll over her tongue as she fingered the 'L' in her name. "I have desk." She turned back to Clark, placing the plaque down on her desk. "Where's your desk?"

Clark motioned behind her and she turned to another desk right across from hers, clean and matriculate compared to her train wreck.

"Of course." She nodded back to Clark.

"KENT! LANE?!"

Clark stood up straighter. "Oh no."

Lois turned back around around to see a tall but slightly potbellied man coming towards them. He must have held some importance since people parted a path for him like he was Moses and they were the Red Sea.

"Who's that?" Lois called back to Clark.

Clark tried to wave Perry off but it was too late.

"Where in the hells bells have you two been?"

Lois stood before him, a bemused smile on her face as she watched this man wave his hands around in the air.

"I...uh..." She turned back to Clark who had his head down. "A little help please!" She snapped and he came back to full alert.

"Perry, I got to talk you." Clark pulled up in front of Lois, blocking her from Perry's questioning gaze.

"No time!" He barked. "I just got a new photographer and I need my two best reporters here to show him the ropes."

Clark paused for a moment, "What happened to Earl?"

Perry waved him off. "Eh, He was as useful as a leaking gas tank in a Zippo factory. No, this one's good. His brother use to work here. Now, where did I leave him...Oh there he is! JIMMY!"

"What?" Clark's mouth hung open as his past seemed to come into the present.

He looked just like him. To his short brownish blonde hair to the same sea blue eyes to the same cheeky smile. Clark couldn't breath. It felt like years of guilt were pressing down on his chest in this one moment.

"Jimmy?" He breathed. The boy glanced up at him sheepishly. Clark recognized the camera that hung around his neck. It was the same one. The very same.

"Yup. This here is Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy, this is Clark Kent and Lois Lane." Perry was all smiles as Jimmy lifted his hand out to Clark.

"It's actually James but I like Jimmy."

Clark stared at the hand. Jimmy stretched his hand out a bit further. He glanced back at Perry then back to Clark, the smile slipping a bit.

"I mean you could call me James if you want? I mean, Jimmy is just a nickname. James is good though...I could be James." He looked at Perry to see if he was doing something wrong.

"Clark, what is the matter with you? Can't you see he want's to shake your hand?!"

Lois glanced at Clark. "It's okay. I'm Lois Lane...or so they tell me?" She shrugged, giving him her best smile and taking the hand he had offered to Clark.

Jimmy gazed back in confusion but continued to have the same silly smile on his face.

"Now will someone please tell me what the hell is going on." Perry gazed between Clark and Lois.

Lois decided to take the initiative on this one since Clark was still standing still with a rather stoic look on his face.

"Well, I don't know anything about this...Well, actually I don't know anything at all because I have amnesia after getting hit in the head with an iron rod by some thug named Sacks."

Perry's mouth dropped a bit and Jimmy seemed eager.

"Well, don't look so happy." She snapped at Jimmy, who immediately dropped the smile.

"I'm just...It's just...This is really what I expected the news world to be like. Now all we need is some hero in tights and we're good to go." He rolled back on the his heels.

"You're Jimmy's younger brother?" Clark finally spoke but his voice was so emotionless it was flat.

"Yeah. Yeah...Did you know him?" Jimmy asked, hope filling his eyes.

"He was married to my best friend." Clark stated as if it was a simple fact like milk came from cows.

"Chloe was married?" Lois turned back in surprise. "Really?! So, where is this fine fellow?"

Jimmy's eye's fell to the ground and he touched his camera protectively. He didn't speak up but he didn't have to because Clark answered it.

"He died, Lois." He stated simply.

Lois looked at Clark then back at Jimmy with shame, "Oh god...I didn't know."

Perry looked at the trio, his eyes going from one to the other. He wanted to speak up, he even opened his mouth but nothing seemed right so he stood there, his mouth in the shape of an 'O'. Lois slowly stepped back until she was next to Clark. She turned her head slightly to his and before she could think of what she was doing, she slid her hand into his. At first he didn't respond but after a few seconds, he felt the heat from her hand tingle it's way up his arm. Clark glanced down at her before moving his gaze down to the soft hand that was inside of his. Hesitating, he slowly closed his fingers around hers. She smiled back at him, one of encouragement which was what Clark needed.

"He was good man, your brother. He took amazing pictures and was dedicated to his job. But most importantly, he made Chloe very happy. It'd be an honor to work with you...Jimmy." The name felt different in his mouth but different in a good way. Clark's heart still broke a bit as he stared at this younger version of the friend he had lost but maybe this was a way to make up for the loss that had hit them all. Maybe Clark could finally put away that chapter of his life and move on to this one. Yes, it would still hurt and the blame would linger but Jimmy, this Jimmy, would be what Clark needed to move on.

Jimmy smile brightly at Clark's comment. "Thanks. That means a lot, Mr. Kent."

Clark winced. "We're going to have to work on a better nickname. Mr. Kent was my father."

"Well, now since that's been settled could someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Like Lois said." Clark pointed to Lois. "She has amnesia."

Perry seemed upset, "How come I wasn't told of this?" He glared hard at Clark, who was slightly abashed.

"We didn't want to worry anyone."

"I'm not anyone, Kent. I'm your boss and I should know when one of my best reporters is out with amnesia!" He huffed. "Are you going to get better, Lane?"

Lois had stood with a composed smile, watching the two but her smile slid a bit as Perry looked at her through his glasses.

"It's really not up to me...White."

He slid out a breath, "Well, here take Olsen here to Metropolis Bank. Some baboon tried stealing out of the vault and got himself locked in. I want you two," He pointed hard to Lois and Clark, "To cover it while Olsen here practices his field work." Perry gave Jimmy a playful shove over to Clark and Lois.

"Perry, I don't think that's such a great idea given Lois' condition" Clark argued tenderly.

Lois turned her head to Clark, determination etched hard on her face. "Amnesia or not, once an investigative journalist, always an investigative journalist." She turned to her desk and grabbed the discarded pad off of it. "I'm all over it." She said to Perry.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Lois..." Clark explained even though he was rather taken to the old Lois that seemed to emerge.

"Please, don't think so highly of yourself." She scoffed, turning to him with a cheeky smile that made his heart jump into his throat.

Perry glanced at the two of them, "Are you sure she has amnesia?"

Clark nodded.

"Whatever. Just get to that bank and get me my story!" He ordered. Jimmy nodded excitedly while Lois gave a chuckle at his eagerness. She felt oddly comfortable in this setting, the bustle of the newspaper a calming blanket over her confusion.

"Come on. Maybe you can show me around." She grabbed his arm, twirling him around. As they walked away, Clark could hear Jimmy's nervous voice, "But I just got here..."

Clark turned to see Perry gazing at him hard. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Perry let his face fall and for once Clark got a glimpse of the man behind The Daily Planet. The true man who had come far from the drunk who saw flying monkeys.

"Kent, I look at you and Lois like the kids I never wanted so it upsets me when you don't tell me when one of you gets into trouble or worse, ends up in the hospital."

Clark nodded his head slowly, unsure of how to answer Perry. It was odd of Perry to show any kind of affection towards...people. Perry clapped a hand on Clark's shoulder, which wasn't a small feat because Perry had to stand on his tiptoes just to reach his shoulder.

"Go get me my story, Kent!" He turned to the onlookers who had paused from their work to stare at the exchange. "What are you all looking at?! Get back to work!" He shouted and like that they dispersed. Clark smiled softly before heading over to elevator where Lois and Jimmy stood waiting.

* * *

"If I could just get a good angle..." Jimmy squinted into the lens, shifting his position to better view the vault.

"Any position would be fine, really. We've been standing here for a good hour now finding a position...the guy's probably dead." Lois said with a heavy sigh. She stood behind Jimmy, snapping her pen.

Jimmy turned to her, his face thoughtful. "Think it'd make for a better story?"

Clark scowled behind Lois, "Jimmy."

"I was kidding!" He stammered unconvincingly before turning back to his camera. "I wonder if The Blur locked him in. You know, to give him a lesson." He added with a satisfied sigh. Lois peered down at him, flash of the camera outlining the curiosity in her face.

"The Blur?" She titled her head to the side. Clark shifted his gaze uneasily. He had completely forgotten about The Blur and his effect on Lois. Would the outcome still be the same with the amnesia?

Jimmy stilled peered in the camera as he turned to answer her. "Yeah. The Blur. Metropolis' very own superhero though no one has seen 'him' since he's just...a blur. You and him talk."

"Excuse me?" Lois asked. Clark winced.

"Yeah, you are like his PR. He tells you stuff and you write it out." Jimmy turned back to the vault were they finally got the door opened. It slammed down with a heavy thud that made the crowd jump. The air inside expelled out in a wave that brought the strong smell of money and the trio gazed on as the police filed in.

"Finally." Clark breathed, grateful for the distraction.

"Took them long enough. These heels are killing me!" Lois struggled to take off her shoes when there was a loud explosion. Clark, in an instant threw himself over Lois, who gasped as the heat from the blast hit the crowd.

"JIMMY!" Clark called and was rewarded with a slight "meep" from shaking lump on the ground. Clark's super hearing went into overdrive as the cries and shouts of the crowd filtered in. He turned to check out Lois, who laid in a daze.

"What the hell happened?!" She asked, wincing as she lifted herself up in a sitting position.

"I don't know." Clark gazed around him, checking the masses to see if anyone was deeply hurt. Finding no one in critical condition, he pulled Lois to her feet.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, holding her against him as he checked her face.

"Yeah." She breathed. She looked up at him, a small smile playing at her lips. "Are all outings like this?"

Clark was about to answer when a faint ticking came through. He turned to the burning building, the flames small but the damage big. Squinting his eyes, he x-rayed the vault where another bomb laid hidden inside an air vent. Clark didn't know much about bombs but he did know enough that this one...was big.

"I...uhhh...I have to go...call Perry. Tell him the story." He said distracted. He pulled himself away from Lois, who started to argue but he was gone in an instant.

"I'm starting to get the impression he does that enough..." She said to Jimmy, who finally stood up from his fetal position.

"Well, hello Miss. Lane." Lois turned to the sickly voice behind her. "Remember me?" He leered at her with a perverted smile. His teeth with were long and yellow and he hunched over, a mass of white hair falling over his face.

"Buddy, I don't even remember my birthday."

He hobbled to her, his arm outstretched. "You wouldn't...you were too young but I remember you."

She back away in disgust. "Listen, whoever you are and whatever issues you have, I am in no way a walking soup kitchen!"

"You're father hurt me bad. Real bad." He muttered, his hand reaching out farther.

"Excuse me, sir!" Jimmy called from behind. He placed a small hand on the man shoulders. "I suggest you leave before I call the police."

"And now you're going to pay, Lois Lane." He swung around, hitting Jimmy hard in the face. The boy crumpled to the ground, his camera hitting the pavement with a hard clank.

"Jimmy!" Lois cried.

The man turned, pulling a gun from inside his jacket. "FOR THE SINS OF THE FATHER YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!"


	4. Chapter 4

Clark blurred into the bank vault, disabled the bomb and recovered any bodies that had survived the explosion all in a matter of seconds but to Clark, it seemed like he was moving too slowly. The bodies, fragile and bloodied, were heavier then normal and Clark found it suddenly difficult to move back and forth. Soft moans of pain filled his ears, melding in with the slow beats of hearts around him. Once he was done, making sure that everything was situated, he super-speed off but not before leaving his family emblem burned into the wall of the bank.

"Sorry it took me so long to phone the story but you know Perry..." Clark's words trailed off as he stopped readjusting his tie to see Jimmy laying on the floor, his lip bleeding and his frantic eyes searching the crowd.

"Jimmy?! Jimmy! What happened?" Clark too glanced around and noticed something that made his stomach collapse. "Where's Lois?!" He grabbed Jimmy's shoulders, pulling him up to his feet.

Jimmy glanced around uneasily, his mouth opening and shutting as he tried to makes sense of what happened. "She-He had a gun and he hit me-" He placed a finger to his lip, yelping as he pulled back a few traces of blood on his finger, "He took her, Clark. He just took her."

"Who took her?!" He yelled.

Jimmy's blue eyes looked up to his. "I don't know."

Clark took his hands off Jimmy, frustration heating him and he was afraid what that feeling might do to an innocent bystander. He had been gone for a minute, two at the most and he had lost Lois. He searched the crowd, using every ability he had to find any trace of her but nothing. _NOTHING! _

"Um, Clark..." Even Jimmy was afraid to talk in front of Clark. He watched as Clark clenched his hands, the muscles in his body flexing beneath his thin shirt. Jimmy raised his eyebrows in surprised....Where those there when he had met the reporter?

Clark turned his head slightly, giving Jimmy enough attention but focusing more on searching for any clue of where Lois could be.

"Could this help?" Jimmy asked uncertainly. He held up a small piece of paper that he had found stuck under his shoe where it had been causing him some minor annoyance.

Clark glanced down at the paper, sliding it from Jimmy's hand. "Metropolis Bank. 3:30 pm. Lois Lane."

Jimmy glanced at his watch. "It's 4:05, right now and we didn't get here till 2."

"And the bank blew up...right around 3:30. So somebody knew the bank was going to blow up."

"And they knew that Lois was going to make an appearance."

Clark turned to Jimmy. "Did he say anything? Anything that could help us?"

Jimmy thought about it then suddenly flashed a big grin, wincing slightly. "He did! He mumbled something about her father!"

Clark's forehead creased in confusion. "Her father?" He wasn't enjoying the icy feeling trailing down his spine. Sam Lane wasn't a bad man but he got himself into bad situations with bad people.

"Yeah...he said, and this isn't a direct quote, 'For the sins of the father something you gotta pay something something.' Actually, I think it was just that." Jimmy fiddled with his camera for a moment. "Maybe my pictures could help." He smiled bashfully. "I got bored and started taking pictures of the crowd. Maybe I took a picture of him?"

Clark gave Jimmy a weak smile of hope but it was enough to lift the spirit of the young photographer.

"That'll help out a lot." Clark turned his direction back to the ground where Lois' purse laid. He bent over and picked it up slowly, running his finger of the leather. He didn't want to leave. It would be like leaving her but if she really was in trouble he couldn't stay and hope that she would magically appear. No, he had to leave but only to find her. At least they had a lead...

"Sam Lane." He whispered into the air.

******************

For a small man, his grip on her arm was piercing. He pulled her down a dark corridor, the only noise being his perverted heavy breaths and the sound of her heels trying to get some traction.

"Okay, OW! Can we ixnay on the grab holding-ay?!" She winced as he pressed his nails into her skin.

"You should remember me, Lois?" He muttered.

"Like I said a thousand times before in about a thousand of the same damn hallways, I have amnesia! I don't even know my father!"

He stopped suddenly. The motion causing her to lurch forward. "You're mouthy like Lois Lane."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!." She asked softly as she rubbed her shoulder.

He pressed her into the wall, the butt of the gun digging into her side. "Your father hurt me." He pressed it deeper until she cried out softly.

"I get that..." Her voice grew shaky as the fear spilled into her.

"General Sam Lane. Married to Ellen Lane. Two daughters: Lois Lane and Lucy Lane." He rambled off, pulling her off the wall and into a door she hadn't seen before.

"Ellen Lane. Ellen Lane. Ellen Lane. Ellen Lane." He muttered over and over again into his straggly hair as he threw her to the ground onto a soft mound of newspapers. The gun was pointed straight at her head, his finger just grazing the trigger.

He tilted his head, his small watery eyes peering. "You look just like her." He said softly, as if his mind wasn't even there. Lois took the opportunity to her her hand slightly. "BUT SHE WAS BLONDE!" He shouted suddenly, the dazed looked replaced with full alert. He bent down to her till she could smell the stale beer on his breath. She lean back a bit, her breaths heavy with panic.

"Why aren't you blonde?" He asked into her ear.

She cringe as his breath itched her ear. "I don't know...genes?" She breathed deeply. The awkward position she laid in now was putting heavy pressure on her back but she didn't dare move in fear that any sudden movement might cause him to harm her.

"Your father hurt me by taking the one thing I loved the most." He cried into her ear, his face lowering into her neck. "I loved her so much and he took her from me. He took her from me."

He moved away from her, reaching behind him and pulling out a strand of rope.

"So, I'm going to hurt him by taking the thing he loves the most." He grabbed her hands, struggling with her to tie the ropes.

"You don't have to do this." She pleaded softly, all sarcasm repressed and placed with pity for the man.

He tied a tight note that tore into her skin. He lifted his head where a pair of soft brown eyes looked at her. "I do. I need to remember Ellen. I need too. She's fading away and I can't catch her." His voice shook and Lois was surprised to see a soft tear fall down his face. "This is the only way I can remember her." He pushed a stray lock of hair off her face.

"I need to remember...and hurt your father like he did me."

She watched as he back off slowly towards the door, leaving her there with her hands tied.

"No! Don't!" She cried to him but he was already gone and the door slammed shut.

* * *

"That's him! That's the guy!" Jimmy pointed animatedly to screen where a man with white shaggy hair stood hunch in the crowd. Clark pointed the mouse cursor on the face, clicking and enlarging the picture.

"Are you sure?" Clark asked.

Jimmy scrunched his nose. "I think I would remember somebody who hit me and that's definitely him."

Clark nodded, picking his cellphone up and dialing a number so familiar he could do it in his sleep but right now the digits seemed so foreign that he had trouble.

"Um, Jimmy. Could you go up and tell Perry what we're doing? I don't want him to get angry like last time."

Jimmy nodded his head. "All over it, CK!"

Clark snapped his head to the side and watched with an open mouth as Jimmy climbed the steps up from the basement. Clark dipped his head down as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Came the soft voice.

"Chloe, I need...I have to tell you something."

She paused for a moment. "Clark, what's wrong? Is Lois okay?!"

Clark closed his eyes, trying to put the words out in a way that wouldn't sound like everything was a complete disaster but every combination sounded the same: Lois was gone.

"Lois is missing..." He said slowly.

There was a hard pause where Clark could hear Chloe digesting the words.

"What?!" She screamed into the phone.

He explained the situation to her. The story, the rescue and then the disappearance all in matter of seconds though to Clark it felt like hours where the words spilled forth from his mouth like molasses.

"But I have a picture of the guy who Ji-Um...of the guy who I think took her."

"Send it to me."

"Already did." He said, clicking **send**.

"Chloe, I'm sorry."

"Clark, this isn't your fault and I have no right to blame you for it. We will find her, okay. I'll get the entire team together and we **will** find her." Her voice carried the promise and for once that day, Clark felt reassured.

"I know you will." He said before hanging up.

* * *

Oliver opened the door to Watchtower, rubbing his eyes as he made his way into the center of the room where Chloe stood, her eyes glued to the monitor in front of her and her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Is there a reason we woke me up from a very much needed nap." He yawn as he threw himself down on a sofa chair.

"Lois is missing." Chloe stated, not taking her eyes off the screen.

Oliver snapped his head up, "Well, I guess that's better then coffee." He said seriously. "What hap-"

"Long story. Just know that's she's missing and I'm all over it but I can't do it by myself. I need you to contact Victor and Bart."

"Chloe, what happened?"

She spun around to face him, her blond hair shining bright beneath the monitors screen and her eyes igniting with pain and tiredness.

"I need you right now, Oliver. I need you to help me find my cousin." Her voice was low but strong.

"Yeah, okay." He said simply, taking in the heavy bags that laid beneath her eyes. "So, what do we know?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"This." She turned back to the monitor where a picture of a young man stood with a familiar yet unknown woman. The picture was old by Oliver's guess since it was black and white. The two stood side by side, both in white lab coats, both smiling at the camera.

"Why does she look so familiar?" He asked as he gazed at the smiling figure.

"Because you know her daughter." Chloe said. "That's Ellen Lane. Lois' mother and my aunt."

She clicked on a series of buttons and a better picture of Ellen appeared. Her blonde hair was curled up and she wore glasses that couldn't hide her vivid blue eyes.

"She was a cyberneticist for the government where she worked on small projects. That's where she met my uncle."

She clicked to another picture that showed a smiling Sam Lane and Ellen Lane at their wedding.

"But while she was there, she worked closely with a man named Daniel Presnell. Some people say that he was in love with Ellen even bordering on obsessed." At this point a mugshot appeared of Daniel, completely different then the first. His hair was in strands over his face while he grimaced at the camera.

"He got arrested when on finding out of the Lane's coming nuptials, he went Incredible Hulk on the lab and completely destroyed it. He was fired and sent away never to be heard from again until now." She then clicked on another photo, the same one Clark had sent her.

"I think he took Lois."

"Why?"

Chloe shrugged one shoulder, "Clark mentioned him rambling about sins of the father. I think he blames my uncle for not getting my aunt.

"So, he takes Lois?" Oliver grabbed the file that laid by Chloe's hands. "It says in here he suffered from dementia."

"Yeah though I don't think that helps with anything."

Oliver placed the file down thoughtfully. "Maybe it does. I had a friend when I was younger who had an uncle-"

"Please don't tell me this is a 'I had a friend who had a friend who had a friend' story." Chloe interrupted with a soft smile.

"-Who suffered from dementia" Oliver continued though a small smile played on his lips too. "He use to be this big time baseball player, even went into the big leagues until a bad knee injury destroyed him but he still loved the game. When he started to lose his memory, he asked his family to keep him surrounded by baseball so he wouldn't lose the memories. He was kept in this room filled with all his baseball memorabilia so he would never forget."

"So, you think he took Lois to remember Ellen."

"I think so." Oliver nodded. "That helps out a lot."

"Yeah, it does! Because if I wanted to remember somebody that special I would stay in the one place where I knew I would never forget her."

Oliver started to grasp where Chloe was heading. "The lab where they worked."

Chloe turned to the screen. A small bleep and a smile revealed to Oliver that Chloe had found what she was looking for.

"Ellen Lane and Daniel Presnell worked at what is now the closed Fort Leavenworth near the Kansas state line."

"I'll go." Oliver said as he headed for the door. "Guess we don't need Victor and Bart."

"No!" Chloe cried out. "I think we do." She walked over to him. "Don't you think it's weird that Lois is attacked one day and then kidnapped the next."

"It does seem oddly suspicious." Oliver pondered.

"I mean, why now? Why come out of the woodworks now? I think this has something to with Sack's or maybe even more. I mean, Lois has pulled her fair share of tails and I think some of the big cats are coming back to bite. I think we may need the entire team for this one."

Oliver pulled Chloe into a tight hug. "Don't worry. We'll get her back and find out what the hell is going on. Don't worry, Chloe." He pulled her away softly. "Get some sleep."

"Only when I know my cousin is safe and sound."

"I'll get her back." He told her one more time before leaving.

"I know you will." She said to the closed door.

* * *

Lois bit at the ropes, her gums bleeding slightly from where the rough wires had cut them. Even with the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth, she continued to bite down, determined to get herself out of this bind, no pun intended.

"Where's this so called Blur when you need him?" She pat out some blood before digging back at the ropes. They seemed to be loosening slightly even though she was no where near untying the note. Her head snapped up as the doorknob twisted and she threw herself to the ground as he stepped into the room, carrying a tray.

"I brought you some breakfast. Ellen loved breakfast. She could eat it anytime of the day." He commented as he placed the tray on the ground. As much as she didn't want to give into his delusions, her mouth couldn't help but water at the smell of the buttery brown waffles, the toast, the scrambled eggs, Oh God, was that bacon?

He walked to her and she backed off slightly. He paused at her movement then continued, softer this time.

"I didn't mean to tie you up but I couldn't let you leave." He reached into his pocket and brought out a knife. Lois hissed with fear, struggling as he grabbed her arm.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" He seemed to plead and she stopped giving him the opportunity to cut the ropes.

"You're doing such a swell job." She muttered as she rubbed her wrists.

"I'm sorry." His voice was quite and small. He backed away into the corner where he sat on the chair.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

"Ellen loved waffles. I preferred french toast but she always loved waffles." He shook his head. "Or was it french toast. I keep forgetting. Help me remember?" He asked Lois, his eyes wide with fear.

"I can't! I don't remember!" She screamed. She tried not to but frustration built up inside her.

"I keep forgetting the color of her eyes. I keep forgetting the sound of her laugh. I forget the perfume she wore. I keep forgetting and I don't want to forget." He whispered, rocking back on the chair.

Lois wanted to hate him. She wanted to hate him for keeping her locked up with no bathroom but she couldn't. She couldn't hate him for holding her at gunpoint. She disliked him for hitting Jimmy but she didn't hate him. No. Because he was like her. Losing his grip on reality. Losing himself to the void that she now lived in where nothing was real or fantasy. Where everything blended into one and she didn't know what was what and it pulled at her until she didn't know who she was. Familiar faces gave way to nothing but fear and she felt like she had no place in the world.

She grabbed the waffle, the butter sliding down her fingers as she took a bite. "What was my mom like?"

He looked up softly from his hands, a smile transforming his face that made Lois believe that he had at one time been a handsome man.

"It's hard..." He said after awhile, the smile faltering.

"Make me laugh." She said suddenly, unaware of where she was headed.

"What?"

"I'm told I have my mother's laugh." Which was a complete lie, at least to Lois.

"Ummm..."He looked around as if some joke was lying around to be picked up.

"I laugh at anything...I think. You could be my first test run." She gave him a hopeful smile.

He sighed. "You have your mother's smile." He said in awe as he stared at her.

"Then it's very possible I have her laugh."

He stood up abruptly and walked to the door.

"You can go."

Lois was taken aback. "What?"

"Ellen would never approve of me kidnapping her daughter." He pointed to the door. "You are free to leave."

She stood up slowly, her legs shaky from sitting for such a long time.

"What about you?" She asked as she headed for the door. Even though she had grown slightly comfortable in his presence, that didn't make her trust him, so she moved with caution.

"I'll stay with Ellen." He looked around the room till his eyes turned back slowly to her. "I loved her."

She made it to the door and turned to him. "I'm sure you are good man and I'm sure my mother remembered you till the day she died. Even though you kidnapped me at gunpoint, tied me up and kept me locked in a room with no bathroom, it was nice meeting you. I just hope we never meet again under these circumstances or at all for that matter, whatever." She smiled st him.

"I still hate your father." H replied roughly.

"Something tells me I'm not too fond of him either." She made to touch his arm but decided not too. She gave him one last smile before walking through the door. She walked down the corridor, her heels making a rhythmic tapping that soothed her. As she walked near the door she assumed was her exit, a tall figure emerged, a weapon pointed to her face.

"Lois?" The voice was deep, masked.

"Oh god! Who the hell are you?" She rolled her eyes. "I've been kidnapped once today so could we give a week before it happens again please.

"Lois! It's me." The figure removed the hood that had been hiding his face.

"Oliver, right?" She asked as he removed his glasses and flashed her a smile she figured made all the girls swoon.

"Uh...Yeah." His smile fell slightly. "Are you okay? Where's Daniel?"

"He let me go."

"Just like that?" He glanced behind her, his weapon raised.

"Yeah..." She glanced at his weapon then down to his outfit. "Is that an arrow? What's with the leather?"

"I'm Green Arrow." He said to her confused face which grew even more confused at his alter-ego. "Never mind. Where is he?"

"What does it matter? He let me go. So, can we go?" She started to walk around to the door but he grabbed her arm.

"He's dangerous. He may be connected to the bomb at the bank. He kidnapped you and you just want to leave?"

"I'm sure he's capable of a lot of things but I don't think he kidnapped me to hurt me." She tugged at her arm.

"Oh really?" Oliver grabbed her wrist where she winced in pain as he rubbed the welts on her wrist from where her pulling had caused them to cut into her skin.

"That was my fault. Not his. Please, his just misunderstood. Please...Don't hurt him."

Oliver gave into her pleading face. "Okay but he needs help."

"That's fine. Help is better then hurting."

Oliver let her go when a massive body was thrown at him. Oliver cried out in surprise as Lois was thrown into the wall.

"YOU DON'T TOUCH HER!" Daniel screamed into Oliver's face as he struggled to pin him down.

"NO!" Lois shouted when she heard the snap of the arrow and the hard grunt.

Daniel stared down at Oliver who gazed up in shock. He felt the body slowly slid off him and hit the floor hard. He gazed down and saw the tiny droplets of blood. His breathing grew labored as he rolled to the side, the hard tears flooding his vision.

"Oh god!" Lois ran to Oliver. "Are you okay?"

Oliver stared off, the tears falling hard, "I didn't-He grabbed the-I didn't know"

Lois grabbed his face. "It wasn't your fault. Okay, it wasn't your fault."

Daniel gave a soft cry and Lois put Oliver's head down gently, crawling over to Daniel's body. She picked up his head softly and placed it into her lap.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be okay." She said down to him.

"Ellen..." He breathed deeply, coughing up some blood as he did.

Lois gave a soft cry, the tears that had been filling her eyes, now slid down her cheeks and rained down on him.

"Lois Lane. Daughter of Ellen Lane." He said softly, his brown eyes shimmering with similar tears. "I have a joke for you." The words were coming out slower as the blood came out of his chest faster.

"Okay, tell me." She cried, wiping the strands of hair off his face.

"What kind of hair do oceans have?"

She shook her head. "I don't know? What?"

He chuckled softly. "Waves."

She gave a small laugh that turned into a soft sob.

He gazed up at her, his brown eyes filling with light. "You do have her laugh..." He said quietly, the last bit of breath leaving his mouth as he died.


End file.
